Afrika Bambaataa is facing renewed accusations of sexual abuse from French rap legend and jiu-jitsu champion Solo.
The rapper, who is a member of the iconic group Assassin, made the allegations during an interview with French show CliqueTV.
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According to a translation of the interview, Solo said: “Being confronted by a predator, especially someone you admire, is very difficult because you admire this person. Realizing they have flaws that lead to inappropriate behavior is a shock.”
Solo says he was 16 when the incident occurred and said the rap pioneer was watching “porn” when Solo was summoned to meet him.
Solo also reflected on why it took him 40 years to come forward with his claims: “I needed personal development and support to even recognize that I was a victim. That was the hardest part.”
He added: “There’s this feeling that you didn’t have the right reaction at the right time. Over time, I understood that mechanisms are triggered that make it impossible to respond appropriately.”
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Afrika Bambaataa has yet to respond to the latest allegations.
The former leader of the Zulu Nation has faced multiple historic allegations of sexual abuse.
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One accuser was a man named Ronald Savage who initially accused Bambaataa of sexual abuse when he was 15.
Savage recently walked back these claims while also acknowledging that he was in a relationship with the rapper while he was underage.
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“In 2016 and beyond, I had totally forgot that when I was younger, when I was 15, I had a fake ID that said that I was 18 to get into the clubs,” Savage said.
He added: “Bambaataa is not a pedophile and, in my eyes, he was doing something that was consensual with someone that he thought was of age.”
Bambaataa previously denied being sexually inappropriate with Savage in an interview with FOX 5 New York, saying: “I never touched that brother.”
Savage is not the only person to have accused Bambaataa of sex crimes. In a 2021 lawsuit, an unidentified man claimed the Hip Hop icon sex trafficked him between 1991 and 1995 when he was between 12 and 16 years old.
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No criminal charges have yet to be brought against Afrika Bambaataa.
